The present invention relates to spray-and-fuse self-fluxing alloy metal powders and more particularly to such powders having relatively large hard precipitates therein for improving the wear resistance of such powders.
Spray and fuse, self-fluxing metal powders are well known in the art and widely used. They can be deposited on a base metal by any available spray process including flame spray and plasma spray, for example, and the deposit fused simultaneously or subsequently. A dense coating on the base metal results with the powder particles metallurgically bonded to the base metal. The coating or overlay can impart wear resistance, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, high room temperature and hot hardness, and the like to the surface of the base metal to which the coating has been applied. The alloy metal powders are used to repair or build up worn, damaged, or improperly machined parts as well as to provide protection to new parts. The metal powders usually are nickel or cobalt based and descriptions of such alloy metal powders can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,875,043; 2,936,299; and 3,305,326, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a method of producing spray-and-fuse self-fluxing alloy powders which are very resistant to abrasive wear.